Press Trust of India
New Delhi, May 2: The eight core sectors expanded to 16-month high of 6.4 per cent in March due to pick-up in refinery products, fertilizers and cement production. The sectors – coal, crude oil, natural gas, refinery products, fertilizers, steel, cement and electricity – comprising nearly 38 per cent of India’s total industrial production, had shrunk to (-)0.7 per cent in March last year. It is the highest monthly growth since November 2014, when these sectors had expanded by 6.7 per cent.
During the fiscal 2015-16 as a whole, the eight core sectors grew by 2.7 per cent, while it had expanded by 4.5 per cent in 2014-15. As per the data released by the government, output in refinery products jumped 10.8 per cent as against (-) 1.5 per cent recorded in March 2015. Fertilizer production grew 22.9 per cent in March as against 5.2 per cent a year ago. Similarly, cement output saw a jump of 11.9 per cent while there was decline in March 2015. Power generation saw a significant increase (11.3 per cent) in March 2016 as compared to the same month last year. Coal production grew by 1.7 per cent, though at a slower pace than 4.5 per cent recorded in March 2015. Crude oil production shrunk in March by (-) 5.1 per cent. Natural gas output fell sharply by (-) 10.5 per cent year-on-year.
